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What a Nuclear Attack in New York Would Look Like
New York Magazine ^
| 06-12-2018
| Ferris Jabr etc.
Posted on 06/13/2018 2:14:58 PM PDT by NRx
...But the current state of dread, while entirely understandable, has overshadowed two crucial realities about the threat of a nuclear calamity. First, a nuclear attack on the United States could well come not from the skies but from the streets. Experts warn that it would be relatively easy for terrorists to build an improvised nuclear bomb and smuggle it into America. Building a ten-kiloton bomb nearly as destructive as the one dropped on Hiroshima would require little more than some technical expertise and 46 kilograms of highly enriched uranium a quantity about the size of a bowling ball. The second reality we have failed to understand is what a nuclear detonation and its aftermath would actually look like. In our imaginations, fueled by apocalyptic fictions like The Road and The Day After, the scale and speed of nuclear annihilation seem too vast and horrific to contemplate. If nuclear war is considered unthinkable, that is in no small part because of our refusal to think about it with any clarity or specificity. In the long run, the best deterrent to nuclear war may be to understand what a single nuclear bomb is capable of doing to, say, a city like New York and to accept that the reality would be even worse than our fears.
...When such a bomb explodes, everyone within 100 feet of ground zero is instantaneously reduced to a spray of atoms. There are photos from Hiroshima and Nagasaki showing eerie silhouettes of people cast against a flat surface, such as a wall or floor. These are not, as is sometimes claimed, the remains of vaporized individuals, but rather a kind of morbid nuclear photograph.
(Excerpt) Read more at nymag.com ...
TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; US: New York
KEYWORDS: terrorism
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To: NRx
As long as about ten Congressman and maybe one or two Senators, along with the President and family are safely outside Washington D.C., then a Nuke attack would be beautiful fireworks.
61
posted on
06/13/2018 5:07:09 PM PDT
by
heights
To: NRx
62
posted on
06/13/2018 5:13:53 PM PDT
by
Blogatron
(Brought to you by The American Frog Council; "Frog - The other green meat.")
To: Vermont Lt
Actually, no. Radiation syndrome is a matter of days, weeks and months, depending on the dose of radiation and which organs affected.
That’s what I’m wondering about. How many will be exposed or potentially have been exposed to high doses of ionizing radiation?
Do you know if there are any estimates?
63
posted on
06/13/2018 5:25:17 PM PDT
by
ifinnegan
(Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
To: NRx
Yup. Thats what you had to worry about with Bammys gift to Iran. Dont have to worry now, New York, Trump is in charge.
I know you wrote that to scare people because you want them to fear Trump.
64
posted on
06/13/2018 5:26:31 PM PDT
by
I want the USA back
(Leftism is an elaborate system for hiding shame behind a cheap mash of virtue. -Klavan.)
To: I want the USA back
As long as they blow it up in the lobby of the NY Times Building I’m good.
65
posted on
06/13/2018 5:29:20 PM PDT
by
EQAndyBuzz
(Proud member of the DWN party. (Deplorable Wing Nut))
To: NRx
.But the current state of dread, while entirely understandable, has overshadowed two crucial realities about the threat of a nuclear calamity. First, a nuclear attack on the United States could well come not from the skies but from the streets. Experts warn that it would be relatively easy for terrorists to build an improvised nuclear bomb and smuggle it into America. Building a ten-kiloton bomb nearly as destructive as the one dropped on Hiroshima would require little more than some technical expertise and 46 kilograms of highly enriched uranium a quantity about the size of a bowling ball. The second reality we have failed to understand is what a nuclear detonation and its aftermath would actually look like. In our imaginations, fueled by apocalyptic fictions like The Road and The Day After, the scale and speed of nuclear annihilation seem too vast and horrific to contemplate. If nuclear war is considered unthinkable, that is in no small part because of our refusal to think about it with any clarity or specificity. In the long run, the best deterrent to nuclear war may be to understand what a single nuclear bomb is capable of doing to, say, a city like New York and to accept that the reality would be even worse than our fears.Yah, and these idiots have been "theorizing" this since Reagan was president. Strange how it doesn't come up during a Democrat.
To: NRx
While a WW-II sized nuke detonated at ground level in Manhattan would cause tremendous damage, the actual damage would be considerable less that the scenario painted by the author who knows very little about blast effects.
67
posted on
06/13/2018 5:38:55 PM PDT
by
fso301
To: SMGFan
It’s even more fun in zone 3
68
posted on
06/13/2018 5:41:33 PM PDT
by
rmlew
("Mosques are our barracks, minarets our bayonets, domes our helmets, the believers our soldiers.")
To: ifinnegan
To: NRx
70
posted on
06/13/2018 6:01:18 PM PDT
by
SERE_DOC
( The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it. T)
To: ml/nj; SMGFan
Unless you think coming up with 46 kilograms of highly enriched uranium is a piece of cake. It's actually easier to make Plutonium.
71
posted on
06/13/2018 6:03:47 PM PDT
by
OldMissileer
(Atlas, Titan, Minuteman, PK. Winners of the Cold War)
To: NRx
What would it look like?
The appropriate level of deportation of non-Americans...
72
posted on
06/13/2018 6:18:19 PM PDT
by
SuperLuminal
(Where is another agitator for republicanism like Sam Adams when we need him?)
To: NRx
Who cares?
No more red blood for Blue cities.
73
posted on
06/13/2018 6:24:07 PM PDT
by
NoLibZone
(Mueller, Obama, Hillary and Holder each made millions selling US uranium to Putin.)
To: NRx
What a Nuclear Attack in New York Would Look Like - a great improvement.
74
posted on
06/13/2018 6:28:29 PM PDT
by
sergeantdave
(Teach a man to fish and he'll steal your gear and sell it)
To: NRx
“Only” 100 pounds of 98 - 99% pure U-235?
75
posted on
06/13/2018 6:28:37 PM PDT
by
Thud
To: StAnDeliver
There was a Japanese guy who survived the bombing of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
To: SoCal Pubbie
Yeah. Imagine how he felt after the second one!
77
posted on
06/13/2018 6:49:51 PM PDT
by
null and void
(Have the courage to shine the light of reason in a dark world)
To: null and void
Tsutomu Yamaguchi (山口 彊 Yamaguchi Tsutomu) (March 16, 1916 January 4, 2010) was a survivor of both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings during World War II. Although at least 70 people are known to have been affected by both bombings,[1] he is the only person to have been officially recognized by the government of Japan as surviving both explosions.[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsutomu_Yamaguchi
To: SoCal Pubbie
To: Steely Tom
If a nuclear attack against NYC happened, I wonder if the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists would advance the doomsday clock. Only if they can find it.
80
posted on
06/13/2018 7:04:39 PM PDT
by
publius911
( If we let it, California will lead us all over the cliff.)
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